An Unexpected Twist
by iflookscouldkillyou'dbedead
Summary: When Jess and Rory are both in need of fast money and end up getting paired up on a reality show, what will be the result? Love? Hate? All out war? Either way, it'll be an interesting ride.


**Hey guys! I had this plot idea on my mind and finally decided to act on it. Basically disregard any Jess related things that happened on the show, and here we are. Set in New York City, in the present day. Enjoy! R and R if you please :)  
**

* * *

Rory sighed as she took in the view of Times Square. Even after living there for almost a year, it still absolutely blew her away, and never failed to put a much-needed smile on her face. Her smile grew when she saw the caller i.d on her buzzing phone, and prepared for the whirlwind of emotion that was Lorelai Gilmore.

"Hi mom!" Rory exclaimed.

"Hello there, human being whom I have birthed! How goes the life of a very busy journalist of the New York Times such as yourself?" Answered Lorelai.

"Ah, tis very busy indeed. Uh, mom, I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that." Said Rory nervously.

"Oh, well go ahead honey." Lorelai said worriedly. Her daughter hadn't sounded this nervous in a very long time.

"Well, I sort of haven't been able to make ends meet lately. The Times certainly does pay well and all, but New York is expensive. And…" Rory paused, waiting for her mother to say something, but the phone was silent on the other end, so she continued on. "And, my landlord is getting tired of my shortcomings. He…he says if I don't pay my debts by the end of the month, I'll have to leave."

"Oh, my poor Rory! Honey if you needed money you could've just said so! I can send you some right now, oh, how much did you say you need?" Lorelai frantically said.

"No mom, that's okay. I really want to do this on my own. I just need really easy money, and fast." Rory said, chewing her lip.

"Well okay," Lorelai hesitantly said. "But you're not planning on calling that Cash for Gold thing right? I mean, everyone knows that's complete bullshit."

Rory laughed. "No, but I do think I have an idea of how to get it." She said, as she stopped to stare at a particular screen lighting up Times Square.

* * *

Jess Mariano was an ass, and he knew it. He had been warned over and over not to harass his very hot yet bitchy boss. They told him one day she would snap back. Today was that day.

"Get your drunk, sorry ass out of my restaurant _right now_ Mariano! I am sick of your pathetic, and disgusting comments! Don't think you'll be getting this week's pay either, and I'll be sure to tell _everyone_ I have ever met to never even consider hiring you!" Yelled Jane Nolan, owner of _Pita Pan_, a sandwich shop, and Jess Mariano's employer.

Jess rolled his eyes, and began to walk out of the restaurant.

"Hey! You can't keep that uniform either!" Jane exclaimed, crossing her arms.

Jess stopped. "Fine." He growled, and then proceeded to take the shirt that consisted of his uniform off and threw it on the floor.

Jane's mouth dropped open as she saw his sculpted chest.

Jess smirked. "What? You told me I couldn't keep it, so I'm not." And with that, he turned around and strolled out the door into the cool summer air. He got a few weird looks from passing strangers as he walked down the street in nothing but khaki shorts and sandals, but whatever, he didn't care. It's not like being shirtless was illegal.

_But shit, _he thought, as he rounded the corner into Times Square._ Now how am I supposed to pay my bills? That was basically the only place in New York that has ever hired me. My landlord is gonna kill me. _

As he was sighing with defeat, Jess bumped into someone on the street.

"Hey! Watch it!" He yelled, and then took a look at the woman he had collided with. She was very pretty, with shiny brown hair, and a nice looking body. She turned around with a scowl on her face.

"Sorry mom, I have to go. Bye." She said into her cellphone, and then snapped it shut.

Jess licked his lips as his eyes roamed her figure. "Hey babe, sorry about that. How about you come back to my place and we can turn that frown into-" he started seductively.

"Uh, excuse me?!" She exclaimed in a disbelieving tone. "Who do you think you are? I will _not _go home with you tonight, nor will I _ever_ go home with you!"

_Oh. So she's one of _those_ girls, _Jess thought. He _hated_ the goody two shoes girls.

"Whatever. On second thought, you're not my kind of chick." Jess retorted.

She made a disgusted noise. "I'm _so_ hurt. OK, well goodbye, I hope I never see you again." She gazed up to somewhere on a building, and then walked away into the crowd. Jess followed the direction of her gaze up to a screen showing a commercial for a reality tv show. He had seen it once or twice, all of his friends talked about the hot chicks that went on the show, so he had checked it out. In his opinion, the show was pretty stupid. A guy and a girl were paired up, sent to an unknown location and had to do difficult challenges requiring the cooperation of both partners for a week. The pair that completes the challenges the best wins a hundred thousand dollars to split.

The boring thing was that it never showed pairs making out or anything to that effect, so chances are the show didn't encourage it. That was why Jess had never entered. But now… he would need that money.

Jess sighed and crossed his arms, while keeping his eyes on the screen. "Better that than being broke," He muttered, and then began walking back down Times Square.

* * *

Three days later, Rory found herself walking into the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison and 45th street for the introduction to the contestants of a reality show.

Yes. A reality show.

Rory had never really thought it would come to this, but times were getting tough, and she had to get money somehow. And besides, maybe she'd meet a nice guy.

_Ugh, after that encounter in Times Square, _any _other guy would seem nicer than that douche bag, _Rory thought, as she filed into a room with about 30 other people. All of them were pretty nice looking. _Of course, if there were less than attractive looking people, there might be a decline in viewership. Who knows? The public tends to be very picky about those things. _

Rory spotted a guy about ten feet away from her who she thought was especially attractive. He glanced around the room until his eyes landed on her, and she gave him a friendly smile.

_I hope I get paired up with him! Pleeeeeeaaaaaase please PLEASE!_ Rory thought excitedly.

"Good morning everyone!" Boomed a male voice. All heads now turned to the stage, where a man in a tuxedo now stood by a microphone. "My name is Jack Lawless, and I am the host of this week's _Mystery Challenge_! My job is to inform the viewers of each pair's progress and status in the ranks. I do not give out hints or directions on how to complete each challenge. You all must do that on your own. For any of you needing clarification, the rules regarding our show are as follows:

One, when assigned a partner, swapping with other pairs is absolutely not permitted. Two, failing to even complete a challenge will result in a time penalty on the next challenge. Three, cheating on a challenge or bribing any pair to throw a challenge will result in immediate disqualification from the show. Finally, cameras will be on at all times during a challenge, and will stay on for another two hours to record a pair's personal interaction. Romantic interaction is permitted, however many of you would find that unwise." Finished Jack, with a sly grin.

Rory looked around and saw many of the guys looking annoyed. _Of course, I bet some of them signed up just to meet hot girls. _Thought Rory, with an eye roll.

"Alright. It is time for pairs to be chosen. Guys, please stand to the right of the room. Girls, to the left of the room." Rory followed all the other anxious looking women and stood next to the wall. She scanned the right side of the room as all of the guys assembled. She had a good view of almost all of them, except for a guy who had been blocked by the one that she smiled at earlier. Most of the male gender opposite her looked competent, but she could only hope that she would be able to get along with her partner. She _needed_ this money.

"Now," Boomed Jack. "Each name will be picked out of a hat. When your name is called, please come up onto the stage. After both partners are named, please leave the stage with your partner and stand to the side. Okay, now that we all understand each other, let's get started."

Rory glanced over to the very attractive man who she smiled at, and found that he was staring at her. She blushed, and quickly looked away. _Maybe he's interested! Please, let him be paired with me._ She looked at him again, and holding her gaze, he mouthed a word. _David. _Rory realized that David must be his name, and so she returned the favor by mouthing her own name back. David smiled, and winked. Rory blushed again. _What was up with all of this blushing? _ Her attention turned to the front as names were starting to be called. Five minutes later, there were six pairs, all of them still excluding Rory and David.

"David Grant." Jack called.

Rory sucked in a breath as David started walking to the stage. It was the moment of truth. David stood up on the stage as Jack fished around in the other hat. A piece of paper was finally pulled out and unfolded. Jack paused a second before reading the name, but then said, "Jessica Kennedy."

Rory's face fell as she realized that she wouldn't be partners with David. David seemed a little disappointed, but shrugged in acceptance as he walked off the stage with his partner.

_Well, it was a long shot anyway I guess. _Rory thought as she frowned.

"Rory Gilmore."

Rory's head snapped up as her name was called. Looking around, she timidly stepped up onto the stage and stood next to Jack, wondering who her partner would be. Jack pulled a name out and opened it.

"Jess Mariano."

_Jess, that's kind of a weird name for a guy. _Rory thought. After a few seconds, someone finally stepped forward. And Rory's jaw dropped to the floor.

It was the douche bag who had tried to hit on her in Times Square.

_Shit._

* * *

**So, how did you guys like it?**** I know there wasn't a lot of Jess and Rory interaction, but this is only the beginning. *Grins evilly and rubs hands together* This should be fun. Alrighty, see ya later!**


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